Fatal shark bites are very rare. But the stats do suggest that the likelihood of an attack proving fatal is higher in Australia - probably because our waters are home to the "big three" dangerous species.

A shark’s nose is chemosensory only, and it doesn’t join up to the back of the throat like ours does.
Flickr/Leszek LeszczynskiJune 6, 2017

Although frightening, the footage of Mick Fanning at Jeffreys Bay is a reminder that sharks are present in the oceans, and that the vast majority of interactions between people and sharks end without fatality or injury.